The Various Columns

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

The Trailer for "Steve Jobs" Introduces an Intense, Sorkiny Take on an Icon

Michael Fassbender

While the project has been long gestating with various snafus in casting, it looks like director Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs is finally going to see the light of day. After 2013 saw a forgettable take starring Ashton Kutcher as the Apple Products founder, the story is getting an update from a classier group of people. With a script by the quizzical Aaron Sorkin, the film is looking to be one of the front runners at next year's Oscar runs. While we have seen a teaser trailer before that provided little, if anything, of value, we now get our first full length trailer with Michael Fassbender in the lead role. The results are quite exceptional.
To many, the real life Steve Jobs is an icon. He has revolutionized the way that we consume media and technology. While some will choose to look more rationally on him, his work has a rather astounding impact on society. With his death still in the relatively recent past, it makes for an interesting decision to make a biopic focused around the eccentric figure. Considering the tumultuous pre-production alone, this final film will be an interesting tribute to him on the grounds of how he is depicted. Is he a mad genius or just a psychopath. Considering that Sorkin also wrote the screenplay for another technology innovator called The Social Network, there's a good chance the results will be more murky than cut and paste.

Though it will be more interesting to see how the cast does. In the lead is Fassbender, who is arguably one of the most ambitious actors currently working. He last received an Oscar nomination for his work on 12 Years a Slave. He has made a career out of balancing blockbusters with indie films that flex his muscles and paint a more complicated picture. If anything, he may end up being one of the most revered actors of this generation when all is said and done. For now, he has promise to chew on some Sorkin dialogue and make an immersive Steve Jobs performance. 

Check out the trailer:



That was really, really good. Here's the plot description from IMDb:
His passion and ingenuity have been the driving force behind the digital age. However his drive to revolutionize technology was sacrificial. Ultimately it affected his family life and possibly his health. In this revealing film we explore the trials and triumphs of a modern day genius, the late CEO of Apple inc. Steven Paul Jobs.
There's a lot that the trailer does right compared to recent trailers like The Walk and Snowden. For starters, it shows enough to get you hooked. It also allows us to get an idea of what the actual Fassbender performance is going to be. What we do get from that is a very gripping, intense series of scenes in which he passionately yells and establishes his brutal, arrogant dominance over everyone around him. It may just be good editing, but the trailer does a great job of getting us to care about Steve Jobs by allowing us to look at the man.

I have no other expectations other than that I am a fan of Danny Boyle's work in general. While his last film Trance was arguably among his weakest, he has produced some great films such as Trainspotting and more recently with 127 Hours. I am curious to see him tackle this film because Jobs is an eccentric and iconic figure who only die hard fans really know a lot about. Also, it may be hard for an actor to escape just looking like a mock-up of the actual man considering his impact. But who cares. Fassbender looks to be turning in some great work. The only hope is that this is as good as the talent suggests and that maybe we're looking at one of the best films of the year.

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